Check your privilege

Henry David Thoreau stayed the night in jail to protest the government, creating the seeds of a revolution. Nowadays, every week you’ll see a post advertising a new protest for a cause. In my opinion, the government written about in his speech mimics the government which exists today. The political atmosphere nowadays is one of immense tension, with the loudest majority of the people speaking against the government.
Many believe that this is an ultimate sign of chaos but to me? This freedom is why I love this country. 

Over the past few weeks, our English class has been debating the true meaning of patriotism, but the essay “Civil Disobedience” just about sums it up perfectly. Our ability to PROTEST. To rise up against what we believe is wrong in the world and truly have the ability to alter and fix it. 

A few months ago, the actress playing Mulan in the upcoming live-action film came out in support of the Chinese government’s actions of the atrocities which it has committed in Hong Kong. “Woke” twitter was set aflame. Protests against the movie emerged and the actress received a lifetime’s worth of hate in one day. The key point in this story is that the majority of these protests stemmed from the United States. In the U.S., we are given the freedom to speak out against our government, free from consequences. But across the world, we are unaware of the pressures and fear which emerge from rebelling against a communist government. This actress’s real opinion is unable to be shared, purely because of the country she lives in. 

Now, I’m certainly not the poster child for America’s beauty, I attend my fair share of protests and anti-government social media posts. But my background of immigrant parents often reminds me to check my privilege. America may not be the land of the free YET, but it sure does allows us to work towards making it one.